Nietzsche e o Niilismo europeu: genealogia e transcurso histórico de um problema

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to propose a characterization of the discussion presented in Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy regarding the “European Nihilism”. Underlying nihilism as a “normal condition” of Modernity, the German philosopher argues that this phenomenon is the necessary corollary of the values and morals that have guided the process of civilization in the West since the emergence of Christianism. Considering nihilism, initially, as a kind of “illness of the Will to Power”, Nietzsche perceives it as a form of life denial that is consolidated as moral in the values and in the moralized view of the world engendered by Christianity. This denial is later radicalized in Modernity, as a “will to destruction", as a result of the devaluation of these values. Regarded as a crucial problem for modern man and for future generations, nihilism is conceived by Nietzsche in its radicalization as an inevitable phenomenon that requires, as such, the breeding and cultivation of a new ideal of mankind that may, through its strength, incorporate nihilism as the precondition for the creation of new values and new interpretations for life